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City staff ask council to approve $415,624 replacement for data-center cooling units
Summary
Staff told FEDRAC that the city’s primary computer-room cooling units are past their useful life and that bids returned significantly higher than earlier estimates; committee forwarded the low bid and contingency to the March 4 consent agenda.
City staff told the Federal Way FEDRAC committee on Feb. 25 that the city’s primary server-room air conditioning units need replacement and asked the committee to forward a bid award to the full council.
The recommended award is to McDonald Miller Facility Solutions for a base bid of $377,840 plus a contingency of $37,784, for a total project authorization of $415,624. Staff said the project was initially estimated at $200,000 and that the remaining $217,624 will come from the general fund while $200,000 was originally allocated from ARPA funds.
Why it matters: staff described the equipment as beyond useful life and said two existing units have been kept running with difficulty; failure of the units could threaten the city’s data center and core IT services. Committee members pressed staff for timing, life-expectancy and funding details.
What staff said: Thaddeus Hodge, commander with the Federal Way Police Department, introduced general public-safety matters earlier in the meeting; city staff presenting the AC item explained the procurement timeline and the need for a contingency for lead-time and temporary cooling if the replacement extends into hot weather. Staff said delivery lead times for the units have lengthened since initial estimates and that contractors build many units to order.
Questions from members and staff responses
- On why estimates were so off, staff said inflation and extended lead times since the original estimate contributed to higher bids and that the city had been managing failing units for several years.
- On schedule, staff said they expect the work to be complete before the heart of summer but that realistic lead times may push completion to 90–145 days from contract execution; the bidder would be responsible for temporary cooling if necessary.
- On funding, finance staff said approximately $217,624 will be covered from general-fund salary savings or other departmental salary savings (swept by practice) and that staff do not expect a separate budget amendment before execution.
Committee action: the committee voted to forward the contract award and contingency to the March 4 consent agenda for final council approval.
Next steps: if council approves on March 4, staff will execute the contract and work with the vendor on delivery and schedule; staff also plan to monitor and report on schedule and temporary-cooling arrangements if the work overlaps warm months.
